MIT Technology Review - air conditioninghttp://www.technologyreview.com/tagged/air-conditioning/
enMaterial Cools Buildings by Sending Heat into Spacehttp://www.technologyreview.com/news/532826/material-cools-buildings-by-sending-heat-into-space/
<p>A new material that requires no electricity uses the universe as a heat sink—even when the sun is shining.</p><p>A material that simultaneously reflects light and radiates heat at frequencies that vent it through the Earth’s atmosphere could one day help cool buildings on hot days. The material cools itself to a temperature below the ambient air, and has been tested on a rooftop at Stanford University by its inventors, who are now working on scaling up the design.</p>Mon, 01 Dec 2014 16:11:00 +0000Kyanna.Sutton532826 at http://www.technologyreview.comNovel Heating System Could Improve Electric Car’s Rangehttp://www.technologyreview.com/news/513466/novel-heating-system-could-improve-electric-cars-range/
<p>A prototype system can heat and cool without draining battery power.</p><p>Buyers considering an electric car must bear in mind that using battery-powered heating and air conditioning can decrease the car’s range by a third or more (see “<a href="http://www.technologyreview.com/news/511906/bmws-solution-to-limited-electric-vehicle-range-a-gas-powered-loaner/">BMW’s Solution to Limited Electric-Vehicle Range: A Gas-Powered Loaner</a>”). A <em>New York Times</em> reviewer recently ran into this problem on a test drive, ending up stranded with a dead battery (see “<a href="http://www.technologyreview.com/view/511321/musk-and-new-york-times-debate-highlights-electric-cars-shortcomings/">Musk-New York Times Debate Highlights Electric Cars’ Shortcomings</a>”).</p>Mon, 22 Apr 2013 04:00:00 +0000juniper.friedman513466 at http://www.technologyreview.comAn Energy-Saving Air Conditionerhttp://www.technologyreview.com/news/419396/an-energy-saving-air-conditioner/
<p>Evaporative cooling plus drying with desiccants equals cool air for less cost.</p><p>Keeping air cool in homes and offices this summer will be expensive–about 5 percent of the energy used in the United States each year goes to running air conditioners. But researchers at the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, CO, have come up with a new air-conditioner design that they say will dramatically increase efficiency and eliminate gases that contribute to global warming.</p>Thu, 17 Jun 2010 04:00:00 +0000digitalservices419396 at http://www.technologyreview.comUsing Ice to Cool Down the Gridhttp://www.technologyreview.com/news/418985/using-ice-to-cool-down-the-grid/
<p>Utilities are installing devices that make ice at night to replace air-conditioning during times of peak power demand.</p><p>Over the next few weeks, a consortium of municipal utilities in California <a href="http://www.ice-energy.com/NEWSEVENTS/PRESSRELEASES/DATA/tabid/357/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/50/Glendale-Water-Power-to-Launch-Thermal-Energy-Storage-Project.aspx" target="_blank">will begin</a> retrofitting government offices and commercial properties with systems that use ice made at night to replace air-conditioning during the day. It’s part of a pilot program for the devices, which are built by Windsor, CO-based <a href="http://www.ice-energy.com/" target="_blank">Ice Energy</a>. If widely deployed, they could reduce fuel consumption by utilities by up to 30 percent and put off the need for new power plants. </p>Wed, 19 May 2010 04:00:00 +0000digitalservices418985 at http://www.technologyreview.com"Melting" Drywall Keeps Rooms Coolhttp://www.technologyreview.com/news/417365/melting-drywall-keeps-rooms-cool/
<p>Developers think these phase-change materials could reduce the need for air-conditioning.</p><p>Building materials that absorb heat during the day and release it at night, eliminating the need for air-conditioning in some climates, will soon be on the market in the United States. The North Carolina company <a href="http://www.nationalgypsum.com/" target="_blank">National Gypsum</a> is testing drywall sheets–the plaster panels that make up the walls in most new buildings–containing capsules that absorb heat to passively cool a building. The capsules, made by chemical giant <a href="http://www.basf.com/group/corporate/en/" target="_blank">BASF</a>, can be incorporated into a range of construction materials and are already found in some products in Europe.</p>Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000digitalservices417365 at http://www.technologyreview.com